“All the Young Dudes” by Mott the Hoople was one of the earliest gay anthems to top charts. Released in 1972, this song was originally written by David Bowie to use for his own album; however, as a fan of Mott the Hoople who heard that they were on their way to breaking up, he donated the song to them as a strive to keep them together (1). One lyric stands out as having an obviously LGBTQ+ message: “Now Lucy looks sweet ‘cause he dresses like a queen” (2). This lyric suggest that the person being spoken about was a man, due to the masculine pronouns used, who goes by the name of Lucy when he cross–dresses to be a drag queen. Despite the members of Mott the Hoople were all straight, their song became an early anthem for the LGBTQ+ community, especially in Europe where the band was most popular (3).
(4) Unfortunately, there is no official music video produced by Mott the Hoople for “All the Young Dudes”, which makes sense considering the time period during which it was released. Therefore, the ambiguity of the lyrics is heightened even further than those of songs today because there is no video with visuals to help shed light on the true meaning of the words being sung. In this video of David Bowie, who wrote the song, he is performing “All the Young Dudes” at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2004 (5). Although this video is entertaining (as is any video of David Bowie performing, in my opinion), it was not created as a way to add meaning to the song itself. Therefore, due to when it was released, the song “All the Young Dudes” and others about the LGBTQIA+ community released around the same time unfortunately usually remain ambiguous, making it easy for those who condone homosexuality and associated behaviors to interpret them in completely different ways. That is, unless the group who sings a song comes forward in an interview or some other sort of public platform to explicitly state the intended meaning of their song.
(1) Ochs, Michael. “Why David Bowie Gave Away All the Young Dudes to Mott the Hoople.” Walesonline, Walesonline, 19 Jan. 2016, www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/david-bowie-gave-away-young-10749662.
(2) Bowie, David. “Now Lucy Looks Sweet Cause He Dresses like a Queen / But He Can Kick like a Mule, It’s a Real Mean Team.” Genius, Genius Media Group Inc., 28 July 1972, genius.com/6842799.
(3) Songfacts. “We Are Sorry…” Song Meanings at Songfacts, Songfacts, 2018, www.songfacts.com/facts/mott-the-hoople/all-the-young-dudes.
(4) Bowie, David, director. All the Young Dudes. YouTube, YouTube, 22 Mar. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToXGVcrgNZA.
(5) The Thin White Duke. “’All The Young Dudes’ Bowie Live at the Isle of Wight Festival.” Thin White Duke, Thin White Duke, 4 Dec. 2016, www.thinwhiteduke.net/489/david-bowie-performances/david-bowie-all-the-young-dudes-isle-of-wight-festival/.